This invention relates generally to a cutting table and, more particularly, to a cutting table for cutting fabric goods, materials or stock.
The cutting of fabric or material for the manufacture of bedding and furniture can be done by hand or by a fully automated machine. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. For example, fully automated machines are accurate, reliable and require minimal labor; however, fully automated machines are expensive and often cannot be sold in price sensitive markets. Further, fully automated machines require substantial selvage on the fabric in order to reliably automatically cut the fabric to size. Hence, the fabric is used less efficiently than if it were manually cut in a manufacturing process. Thus manual cutting often provides some benefits and efficiency with respect to material usage; however, it is difficult and time consuming for an operator to manipulate and cut larger fabric pieces such as those used in bedding. Therefore, known methods of manually cutting of the material are also expensive.
Consequently, there is a need for cutting table that facilitates a manual fabric cutting process, so that material of a desired size can be efficiently and quickly cut.
The present invention provides a cutting table that permits fabric to be easily and quickly manually aligned so that the fabric can be accurately cut with parallel edges. Such a cutting table provides a significant advantage in servicing those markets where fully automated machines are price prohibitive. The cutting table of the present invention also permits the fabric to be quickly and accurately manually aligned with an existing pattern in the material. Hence the cutting table has a further advantage of having more flexibility. The cutting table of the present invention also permits fabric with minimal selvage to be trimmed and used in production. Material with minimal selvage would otherwise be scrapped; and therefore, the cutting table of the present invention has a still further advantage of a more efficient use of the fabric.
According to the principles of the present invention and in accordance with the described embodiments, the invention provides a cutting table for cutting pieces of fabric. The table has a fabric supporting table surface mounted on a frame. A cutter is manually movable along a linear cutting path that is substantially perpendicular to an edge guide. First and second light emitting devices emit respective first and second lights in a direction substantially parallel to the linear cutting path. A manually powered drive supports the first and second light emitting devices in a spaced apart relationship, and the drive is manually operable to move the light emitting devices through equal displacements in opposite directions substantially perpendicular to the linear cutting path. The light emitting devices are used to quickly align the fabric, so that it can be cut to a desired width.
In one aspect of this invention, a carriage mounted on the frame supports the manually powered drive, and the carriage is manually movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the cutting path. Further, the manually powered drive has first and second racks supporting the respective first and second light emitting devices. The first rack engages one side of a pinion and the second rack engaging an opposite side of the pinion. A handwheel is connected to the pinion, and rotation of the handwheel moves the racks through equal displacements in opposite directions.
In another embodiment of the invention, a method is provided for cutting a piece of fabric. First, the fabric is manually placed on a table surface to locate a first edge against an edge guide and a second, adjacent edge across a linear cutting path substantially perpendicular to the edge guide. First and second light emitting devices are moved to a location where respective first and second lights are substantially equidistant from a desired center line of the fabric. A cutter is then manually moved along the linear cutting path identified by the first light to cut a second edge of the fabric substantially perpendicular to the one edge. The fabric is manually moved on the table surface to locate a third edge, opposite the first edge, against the edge guide, and the second edge of the fabric in line with the second light. The cutter is again manually moved along the linear cutting path to cut a fourth edge of the fabric that is substantially parallel to the second edge. The distance between the second and fourth edges being substantially equal to the desired dimension, for example, width, of the fabric.